Classical Weekdays

WRTI brings you the best recordings of works from the vast world of classical music every weekday from 6 am to 6 pm. Chamber music, symphonies, choral works, violin concertos, piano sonatas, and more...engagingly presented with insight and a smile by our knowledgeable hosts.

12:50 pm

Tue March 3, 2015

There’s breaking news in the classical music world. The London Symphony Orchestra announced this morning that Simon Rattle will become its music director in September of 2017. Rattle, chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2002, had previously announced that he would step down from that position when his contract expires in 2018.

WRTI Spotlight

5:41 pm

Mon March 2, 2015

No man can resist Carmen's charms. But when she’s ready to move on, watch out! A riveting drama of love and jealousy, filled with famously alluring melodies and captivating dances, Carmen is one of the world’s most popular operas. Georges Bizet’s immortal score overflows with one delight after another - a music lover’s hit parade of opera’s most intoxicating melodies. Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca sings the title role. Saturday, March 7, 1 to 4: 30 pm on WRTI. Sung in French.

Award-winning architect Frank Gehry, known for designing buildings with striking exteriors, is now partnering with The Philadelphia Museum of Art on a mostly interior renovation and expansion of its classical structure. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, this renowned architect is inspired by classical as well as contemporary culture.

Philadelphia Music Makers

5:35 pm

Mon February 23, 2015

After violinist Elissa Lee Koljonen graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1994, she was invited to perform at the Cape and Islands Chamber Music Festival (now the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival). At a rehearsal there, she confessed to the violist she was to perform with that she had never before performed the popular Halvorsen Passacaglia for violin and viola (based on music of Handel). The violist, Roberto Díaz, then admitted the same thing to her.

The highlight of the collaboration among members of the Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth is the Philadelphia Festival of Young Musicians. It's a concept modeled after one in Chicago, a template for a local consortium of music organizations for the young.

Creatively Speaking

6:07 am

Mon February 23, 2015

When American pianist Van Cliburn died in 2013, funeral organizers in Texas couldn’t locate an obscure piece of music he’d requested for the service. But as WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, thanks to a Philadelphia connection, the Russian folk song was found, and is now enjoying new life in America. "Vanya Klibern," as he was called in Russia, says Inna Lobanova-Heasley, was "a rock star" there.

Here are several ensembles presenting the Russian folk song performed at Van Cliburn's funeral service.

Has a music teacher profoundly impacted your life? If so, then the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO) wants to hear all about that teacher. WRTI is partnering with the PYO to draw attention to the many talented and dedicated music educators in the Delaware Valley, and is now seeking nominees for its second annual Ovation Award for Inspiration and Outstanding Leadership in Music Education. Do you have a favorite music teacher in mind?

Crossover

10:44 pm

Sun February 22, 2015

The New York Times calls Alisa Weilerstein the "sovereign of the American cello," and continue, "it’s not technical brilliance that makes Alisa Weilerstein’s recording of Dvorak’s much-loved cello concerto special, though the young American cellist has it in spades. It’s the take-no-prisoners emotional investment that is evident in every bar, but never more so than in the heart-wrenching slow movement, where Ms. Weilerstein’s cello appears to take on human shape."